The Cursed Sword
by SuguiChan
Summary: Ban is afraid that the next mission will be the end for him and Ginji... Adventure story, crossover with XMen Wolverine. Warnings: violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai. Main characters: Ban, Ginji, Logan. Yay, finally updated! CHAPTER NINE-A UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre:** Adventure  
**Word count:** 542  
**Fandom:** Get Backers/X-Men  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Rating:** T  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer: **Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.  
**Summary:** Ban is afraid that the next mission will be the end for him and Ginji...  
**Author's notes**: a) since I'm still reading book 1 of the manga all my fics are mostly based in the anime. b) for the ones who doesn't know much about X-Men, Logan (aka Wolverine) lived for some time in Japan. He can speak Japanese, so no problems in communicating with Ban and Ginji.

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

"_Now, by your right hand, before the end of this cursed fate, I shall be the one to embody Asclepius as he descends from the high heavens. Now, I shall state my request: attack with your fangs of venom!"_

The right hand, guided by the cursed serpent, flew to the enemy's throat, ready to crush it with fury,.

The katana shone against the dark sky for a brief moment and then descended with incredible speed, once, twice, three times. For a split second the signature on the slim blade was clearly visible: Muramasa - one of the best sword smiths of Japan. What a fancy way to die.

For a moment there was stunned, horrified silence. Suddenly there was blood, hot, sticky blood on his face, on his shirt, everywhere. Then, agonizing pain – in his whole body, but worst of all, in the deepest recesses of his soul. Ban opened his mouth to scream but only a whisper came from his lips.

"_Gin... ji..."_

He knew that all that blood was not of the enemy. It was his and Ginji's.

"_...sor... ry..."_

This time he couldn't save his best friend. He couldn't even save himself.

Asclepius was dead.

"...chan?"

Blue eyes cracked open and glared at brown ones.

"What?"

"I was asking if there was something wrong, Ban-chan." Ginji was almost crawling on his friend's lap in his eagerness to show how worried he was. "You were completely still and with your eyes closed for half an hour!"

They were in the Ladybug, parked in front of the Honky Tonk. Since Paul had told them not to get in until their tab was paid, they were waiting outside for Hevn to come with their client.

Ban snorted.

"Pheh, it was only for some minutes, idiot. I was thinking."

"About what?"

Another snort, this time a little annoyed, and Ban picked a cigarette from the pack in his pocket.

"About what?" Ginji insisted.

"Our client." he lied. Well, not a complete lie since it seemed that their next job was somehow related to the dream he had the night before. Ban usually avoided talking about the gory visions that sometimes pestered him in his sleep – unlike the old hag, he had very few and most of them never came true anyway. This last one had been a little more worrying than usual, though, and when Hevn called that morning talking about a job involving a katana, he felt the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end.

_The future is never definite._

He had said that to Computer Boy once, and he believed in it with all his heart... so why was he disturbed by a dream that was more likely to be the result of an upset stomach rather than a vision of what was to come?

_It's different when it involves Ginji. Or me, being defeated while embodying Asclepius._

"Hey, there comes Hevn-san!" Ginji jumped out of the car and waved enthusiastically. Hevn responded with a smile. The man walking beside her ignored the greeting. He just stared at the Get Backers with sharp, scathing eyes for a brief moment and then turned his attention to the negotiator as she guided him to the Honky Tonk.

* * *

This is my first attempt at multi-part - hope it's interesting enough. Comments and concrits are always welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

"So your katana was stolen and you want us to retrieve it." Ban took a sip of his coffee, eyes glinting suspiciously. "Why didn't you leave it to the police?"

The client – whom Hevn had presented as Ryoma Yagumo – placed a photo on the table.

"I do not believe the police will be able to act in this case, considering the person who committed this crime."

The two Get Backers looked at the photo. There wasn't much to see – a man with dark brown hair, wearing jeans and a leather jacket, most of his face concealed by large sunglasses.

"It seems that he's not Japanese." said Ginji.

Yagumo nodded.

"The name is Logan – I don't know if it's his first or last name. He's Canadian but lived for some time in the US and in Japan. Rumor has it that he is involved with the Yakuza."

"Looks pretty fishy." Ban smirked as he noticed the slight hint of annoyance in the client's somber face. The rude comment had been on purpose - he definitely didn't like Yagumo from the moment he'd laid his eyes on him. The impeccable black suit, the short hair neatly combed, the disgusted expression with which he eyed Ginji's blond hair all but screamed "snobbish traditionalist" to him. The likes of Ryoma Yagumo were the ones who looked down at him for having German blood in his veins. He hated the type so whenever he met one he took great pleasure in pushing some buttons.

_Pity this son of a bitch has so much self-control._

"I understand if you do not wish to take risks", Yagumo picked the photo and made to put it back in his pocket.

"I didn't say that." Ban lit a cigarette, took a long drag and expelled the smoke with lazy satisfaction. "I was just saying that the job seems to be pretty demanding."

The client dropped the photo and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Two million yen. One million now, the rest when we finish the job."

"Ban!" Hevn was scandalized. "I had already settled the price with Yagumo-san, what are you..."

"Sorry but, like I said, the job seems to be pretty dangerous, much more than _you _told us, Hevn. What if one of us gets seriously injured? We wouldn't be able to work for a long while!"

Hevn tried to protest but Yagumo placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled unpleasantly.

"I will have the down payment delivered to you this evening, Midou-kun. If you need to contact me, Hevn-san knows my number. Now, if you excuse me..."

There was a heavy silence as the client made his way out of the Honky Tonk. When the door closed behind him, Hevn let out a deep sigh of relief.

"You will definitely be death of me" she sneered. "I had told you that the job was risky and that you were free to refuse! Why did you do all that act if you were going to take it anyway?"

"Stop whining, you're just mad because I managed to double our price and you won't have a piece of it!"

Hevn opened her mouth to talk back when Ginji, who had been fidgeting uncomfortably all the time, interrupted the argument.

"Do we really have to take the job, Ban-chan?"

Ban blinked in surprise. Ginji rarely disagreed with him once the decision was officially made.

"Why are you saying that, idiot? We are broke, that guy's agreed to pay us two million yen, do I need to draw a graphic to make you see?"

The blond Get Backer seemed to be at a loss.

"It's just... I had a bad feeling about the job... and... and..." he stuttered, staring down at his own hands.

_Damn intuitive bastard._

Ban swatted lightly at his friend.

"Baka" he grunted, but the insult came in an affectionate tone, "what are you afraid of? We are the invincible Get Backers, remember?"

A small smile crept in Ginji's confused face as his apprehensions were wiped away by his friend's confident words.

In fact, Ban wasn't as positive as he appeared to be. Not one bit. He had accepted that gig because he was sure the only way to change the future he'd seen in his dream was to catch the bull by its horns – but this certainty didn't ease his worries, more so considering it was not only his own life but also Ginji's that he put at stake.

Yagumo's katana was a Muramasa. The same one he had seen in his dream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre:** Adventure  
**Summary:** the Get Backers get a risky job  
**Word count:** 1989  
**Fandom:** Get Backers/X-Men  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Rating:** PG-13 or T  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer:** Get Backers belongs to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. X-Men belongs to Marvel Comics.

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

_**Hokkaido**_

According to Yagumo Logan was living in a cabin, in a very isolated place in the mountains of Hokkaido. Knowing that their expenses would be paid by their client, Ban decided to make the most of it – since it was the end of fall he bought high quality winter clothes for Ginji and himself, and rented the best SUV he could find. Now, properly dressed and equipped, the Get Backers were driving towards their target.

"Wow, this is so cool, Ban-chan!" Ginji had his face glued to the car window, admiring the endless lines of trees on both sides of the road. "Do you think we can go sightseeing after we finish the job? Natsumi-chan said that there are wonderful places to see in Hokkaido!"

"I don't know if we'll have the time, Ginji." Ban felt a little guilty at the disappointed pout his friend directed to him. _Well, that's what you get for being the brains of the business... _Thinking it was better to divert Ginji's attention before he started with the puppy dog eyes act, Ban threw a map to him. "Here, help me out. We have already passed Tokachigawa. How far are we from the man's cabin?"

Ginji opened the map and frowned at it. He wasn't very good at directions but Ban had carefully highlighted their route and wrote precise instructions with color markers so all Ginji had to do was read it.

"Hummmm... I think we are almost there... There should be a trail at some point of this road that leads to the place."

"Ha! Found it!" Ban slammed on the brakes, making Ginji yelp in surprise. The trail was quite narrow, partially hidden by the vegetation – if Ban hadn't been looking in the right direction at that moment, they would have lost it.

"One more second and we would've passed by it and probably never find it." Ginji whistled in admiration. "It seems that this Logan-san really doesn't want to be found, ne?"

"If I had stolen a Muramasa sword from a guy like Yagumo, I wouldn't even be in Japan right now. "

"Yagumo-san is scary, isn't he? I don't know why but..."

"Scary or not he is our client and he's already given us the down payment plus the money for this trip expenses. Come on, the car can't pass through here, we'll have to walk."

"Alright, Ban-chan."

It was cold outside so they wore their jackets and scarves before starting to the trail. It was a good decision – not long after they started walking, the chilly wind and the humidity in the air had them hunching their shoulders and shivering, even with the extra warm clothes. The shadows of the huge trees around them only added to the sensation of cold. Even Ginji, who was less sensitive to low temperatures, was trying to snuggle more into his jacket. 

It took about an hour walking in the woods until they reached a clearing where the cabin was. It was a small, American style construction that apparently had been recently cleaned and renewed – the flower beds under the windows were empty and there was a faint smell of fresh paint in the air. A motorbike parked in front of it indicated their target was there.

Ban turned to his friend.

"Alright, we have about two hours until dark, we have to be fast. You remember what you have to do, right?"

"We will pretend that we're lost and ask for help. When the man comes closer you will distract him with the Jagan and I get in the cabin, find the katana and bring it with me. Then we run back to our car."

"Good boy. And remember, be fast, don't hesitate. This guy is too mysterious for my liking, he can be dangerous."

"Okay, Ban-chan."

* * *

"... you sure?" 

"Positive. Don't sweat, Storm. I think I'm old enough to take care of myself." there was a slight hint of bitter sarcasm in the way he stressed the word "old". It didn't go unnoticed by the woman on the phone.

"Logan..."

"Ororo, just relax okay? I'm just going to spend some more days here in the mountains to think things out, I swear." the voice wavered a bit on the word "swear". The woman didn't miss that, too.

"You're a terrible liar, Logan."

"Just trust me, I'm not gonna do anything you wouldn't... given the circumstances."

"You're impossible, did you know that?"

"Yeah, that's why you love me so, sweetheart."

"Logan!"

"Gotta go now, give my regards to the folks." he turned off the cellphone before Ororo could say anything else. Damn nosy woman... she was acting more and more like the Professor.

_She's not nosy, just concerned and you know she has good reasons to be worried, _the rational part of him said. Ororo, like many who he had relations with on the present days, had little knowledge of his past. It was only natural that she found his behavior pretty erratic lately. Unfortunately, Logan couldn't explain what was happening – it was too complicated for him to put it into words.

This cabin, for example. Despite the modest aspect – there was only a bathroom, a kitchen and a large room that served both as living room and bedroom – it had probably cost a lot considering the location and how expensive housing was in Japan. He knew it belonged to him, he had the deed to prove it, but had no idea of why he'd bought it or how he'd paid for it. He remembered that he'd been to Japan before, he even remembered how to speak the language but the details of his time in this country were extremely blurry except for one or two major events. It was always like this when parts of his long lost memory snapped back to his conscious mind, and the whole process of putting one more piece of the puzzle in the right place was always hard and unpleasant.

_What the hell, I've been brainwashed and amnesiac more than once in my life, should've been used to this by now..._

With an irritated snort Logan picked a cigar from his pocket and headed for the porch. It was cold outside, he could tell it was going to snow soon, but he needed to smoke and even though he was alone in the house he didn't want to do it inside – ever since he started to spend time in Xavier's school, he had been forced to be more careful of where and when to lit a cigar with all those children around, and that soon became a habit.

"Gomen kudasai!"(1)

Logan frowned as he saw two young men approaching. Typical Tokyo boys, with weird hair cuts and colorful clothing, apparently just harmless tourists. He couldn't sense any danger in the smiling faces but his muscles tensed automatically, his whole body preparing for fight like it always did when he met strangers.

"I am sorry sir, we are lost..." one of the boys took off his sunglasses and Logan was surprised to see a pair of striking blue eyes.

And then, he heard a familiar chuckle. A soft, female voice. A woman peeked at him from behind the blue-eyed boy.

The cigar fell from his shaking hand. His heart raced madly as his mind protested, _impossible, impossible, impossible..._

Itsu. Her lovely round face, the long silky hair carefully tied in a neat ponytail, the red kimono he had given her in their first anniversary... how? How could she be there? She was dead. Dead.

Could it be that she had miraculously survived all those years, the same way he had?

"Anata. See, it's our boy!"(2)

She raised the baby in her arms so that Logan could see. It was a little boy with lovely pink cheeks, chubby hands grabbing a rubber toy. His wife, his son. His family. Could it be possible that for once, just once, his past hadn't come to haunt but to save him? He reached to them, a tiny bit of hope making his eyes sting and bringing a lump to his throat.

Itsu looked up in alarm as it started to rain. She bent over, trying to protect the infant from the cold drops. Eyes wide in horror, Logan saw red spots on the comforter that wrapped the child. Itsu collapsed in a heap on the ground and slowly, desperately slowly, red rivulets ran over the green grass.

_No. No. No._

It was blood.

Something snapped inside him. A raging storm filled his mind, wiping away any rational thought, his soul being ripped apart once again, the same torturing agony of years ago, when he found Itsu dead, her beautiful body abused and torn like a broken doll. He screamed in burning rage, claws springing out his knuckles.

"Shit!"

Ban barely managed to jump out of the way when the maddened gaijin attacked, surprised by his inhuman speed.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. How the fucking hell did the bastard escape my Jagan?_

Wolverine turned back and lunged at Ban again. The Jagan user dodged and punched his attacker with all he had. Blue eyes widened in shock to see that the powerful blow had little to no effect.

_What the fu..._

A split second of distraction and the sharp adamantium claws slashed his shoulder. Crying out in pain, Ban jumped out of Wolverine's reach once more and fell on his knees, blood seeping through his torn jacket.

"Ban-chan!"

Ginji ran out of the cabin, katana in hands, his usually cheerful face contorted in horror at what he was seeing. Sparkles of electricity danced around him as he prepared to attack.

_10 thousand volts... 20 thousand... no, I have to hit him with all I have, this man looks as strong as Hishiki... I'm sorry Logan-san, but I can't let you hurt Ban-chan!_

A flash of blinding white-blue light exploded with a crackling sound.

"Ginji!" Ban blinked furiously, his vision clouded by the lightning. He rubbed his eyes and when his eyesight gradually returned, he saw Logan collapsing on the ground right in front of Ginji, who had a strangely surprised expression. The blond Get Backer looked down to his belly, in time to see Wolverine's claws slipping out of it with a nauseating wet sound.

"Ban-chan... I..."

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Ten times stupid! Shouldn't get so close to that insane bastard!_

Making a mad dash for his friend, Ban managed to catch him before he fell. Ginji's head lolled to the side, his body suddenly heavy and boneless in his partner's arms.

"Ginji! H-hold on, buddy, are you listening?" Ban couldn't hide the panic in his voice as he saw the ugly aspect of Ginji's wound.

"Ban-chan, I think... I'm... hurt..."

"Yeah, I can see that! Hold on, we're gonna get the hell outta here..."

Ignoring his own injury, the Jagan user scooped his partner intending to carry him to the car and rush to a hospital, but a gloomy howling sound got his attention.

The sky was now ominously dark, the clouds so thick and heavy it felt suffocating. It was a snow storm coming. In minutes, the whole mountain would turn into a white hell – there was no time to get to the car.

Cursing profusely under his teeth, Ban turned to the cabin. It was their only chance, lock themselves in there and pray that the storm wouldn't take long.

"B-Ban-cha... n... I didn't... kill... him... did I?" Ginji grimaced with the effort to speak.

_Damn stupid eel... even in a moment like this you worry over others instead of yourself..._

Ban glanced at the fallen enemy. Yeah, the son of a bitch was still alive.

"No, you didn't killl him, Ginji. Now shut up or you'll never stop bleeding, idiot!"

Ginji managed a weak, relieved smile before lapsing into unconsciousness.

* * *

___**Author's Notes: **_

___- I live in a tropical country, I've never seen snow, so I have no idea if the sky turns cloudy before a snow storm, or if a snow storm can actually start just like that... I did the best I could using movie scenes as references. Sorry for any discrepancies. _

___- I couldn't find much information about Logan's history in Japan (unfortunately I don't have any X-Men comic book at hands right now). I did what I could with what little I could find on the internet. My apologies for any mistakes. _

Aaaand, for the words in Japanese, the translation follows below: 

_(1) Excuse us_

_(2) "Anata" means "you", but it is also used as an endearment by wives to their husbands. In this case, it means something like "darling" or "dear"._


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre: **Adventure  
**Summary:** a Snake, a Lightning Emperor and a Mutant are locked in a cabin...  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Rating:** PG-13 or T  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer:** Get Backers belongs to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. X-Men belongs to Marvel Comics.

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

There was somebody screaming in his ears. He couldn't get the words, but it seemed important since the person, whoever it was, wouldn't stop even to breath. He tried to look around and see who it was and only then he noticed his eyes were closed. His nose captured the familiar scent of the cabin – old wood, burnt coffee, fresh paint – mixed to other foreign ones. Scent of dry blood, scent of two other people.

"Stop faking. I know you're awake." the low, threatening voice belonged to the blue-eyed boy, Logan knew it.

Slowly opening his eyes, Logan took his time taking in his present situation. He was in the cabin, lying on the floor, one of his hands cuffed to the fireplace grid. _Where the hell did those kids get handcuffs? _Outside, the snow storm was howling furiously – ah, so that was the screaming sound in his ears...

And what exactly had happened? He remembered he had some kind of hallucination with Itsu and their baby – Blue Eyes had done something, he was sure. Some kind of gas, or maybe the brat had psychic powers just like Jean or Xavier. Then he had gone berserk and somehow snapped out of the trance. He was trying to get to Blue Eyes when the other kid, the one with the blond hair attacked him with... electricity! He had literally electrocuted Logan using only his bare hands... Would those two be mutants allied to Magneto? Nah, he would have sensed the danger if they were. Magneto, the old bastard, always left a clear signature in everyone who he managed to convert to his cause – it was something in the eyes - the invisible chain of unconditional obedience. These boys were different. They were free.

"Don't try anything or I'll fucking screw you."

Logan turned to the blue-eyed boy. He was sitting on the floor, leaning on the wall opposite to where Logan was, looking exhausted and disheveled. The makeshift bandage on his wounded shoulder was covered with nasty dark red stains and, with his clothes ripped out, he was shivering with cold. It was painfully clear that only sheer determination kept him awake. He nervously shot quick glances from his prisoner to the bed next to him, where his companion lay unconscious.

"You don't think this will keep me from giving you the thrashing you deserve, do you?" Logan pulled at the handcuffs lightly, just to see the boy's reaction.

"Nope. But the noise you'll make to break the handcuffs will serve as an alarm if you decide to attack me while I'm not looking."

"Heh. Why would I have to wait to catch you off-guard? I could break this and beat the living daylights of you right now."

"You wouldn't stand a chance. You caught me by surprise before, but now I'm alert and ready." despite his worn out state the threat rang true. Logan couldn't smell fear in him – that boy was sure he could win a fight with Wolverine, even injured as he was. That, or he had a darn kamikaze death wish.

"No shit. You're a damn cocky brat."

"The name's Ban. Ban Midou." blue eyes shone with barely contained anger. "I brought you in because Ginji would never let me see the end of it if I left you outside to die, but if you give me the shadow of a reason, nothing will stop me from kill you."

Logan smirked, but didn't talk back the way he wanted to. Although his healing factor had already fixed him, he was aware of the damage that brat's punch had done to his arm – muscles and nerves had been literally shredded to pieces with the impact and if they weren't made of adamantium, his bones would have been smashed. Hard to believe looking at that skinny frame - Ban Midou certainly was no ordinary boy.

And his companion was dangerous, too. He must've summoned a monstrous amount of electricity to beat Wolverine in his berserk fury. Which reminded him...

_I stabbed the blondie right in the guts before passing out. _

Logan looked at Ginji. The sheets and the blanket that covered him seemed clean. Except for some dry blood stains on the floor, there was no sign that the boy lying there was seriously injured. It seemed that Blue Eyes took better care of his partner than of himself.

"So your pal's alive." he said, trying not to show the relieve he was feeling.

_Wait a minute, why should I be relieved? The damn brat tried to kill me!_

But deep inside he knew it wasn't true. As the experienced fighter he was, Logan could tell when an opponent was blood-thirsty or not. The blondie wasn't. He wouldn't kill unless he was forced.

Which led him to the burning question: why did those two attacked him? Everyone who came after Logan wanted either to kill him or capture him for a wide plethora of reasons, but those kids clearly didn't want to do none of it – if they did, there were many safer, smarter strategies they could have used.

"Yeah, he's alive, not thanks to you." Ban stood up with visible effort and approached the bed. He placed a hand on his friend's forehead with great delicacy. Suddenly all traces of anger were wiped from his face and he seemed incredibly young and vulnerable as he stared at the other boy with unconcealed worry. His voice was soft when he whispered, more to himself than to the other man. "He was just trying to protect me."

Brown eyes fluttered open. The pale face lightened a little as Ginji recognized his partner.

"Hi, Ban-chan..."

"Stupid eel." Ban smiled and gently pushed his friend back when he tried to sit up. "Don't try to move yet. The cuts are deep, and I don't think you have the energy to heal right now."

"Ban-chan, you're hurt too..."

"This is nothing." putting on a brave face, Ban grinned and patted his own wounded shoulder. "I am the great Ban Midou-sama, remember?"

Ginji didn't seem convinced but couldn't bring himself to insist in the issue – for once, he had no energy for arguments. Instead, he looked to the side, to where Logan was, and tried an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Logan-san... I'm glad you are alright..."

The big brown eyes showed no sign of anger or grudge, just pure friendly disposition. It looked so out of place after all that happened less than hour ago that Logan couldn't help but chuckle at the apology.

"Hell, Junior, you are really something... you try to kill me and then tell me you're '_sorry_'?"

Ginji blinked, confused. He sensed the irony in the man's voice but couldn't quite get it, but Ban could and the reaction was immediate.

"Bastard..." Ban growled and made to lunge at the other man but Ginji grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"It's okay, Ban-chan. We are in the wrong this time anyway..." the blond Get Backer was breathless with forcing his weakened body but continued. "I saw the inscription in the katana... it is not Yagumo-san's! The katana really... belongs... to Logan-san..."

"What?" the outraged Jagan user looked at his friend ready to whack him for not telling it sooner, but when he saw Ginji's face pale and grimace in obvious pain, irritation turned into worry. "Oi, Ginji!"

He hastily shoved the blanket off to check on the wound and cursed at the sight of blood-soaked bandages. The cuts had reopened, probably with the effort Ginji made to hold his friend back.

_Shit, he can't lose any more blood in this state..._

The sound of metal snapping made Ban freeze, his whole body suddenly still and tense as a spring, his sharp senses aware of the strange gaijin approaching.

Standing right behind the Jagan user, Logan dropped the broken handcuffs on the floor.

Outside, the storm grew wilder and stronger, the wailing sound speaking of death and destruction.

* * *

_**Author's note:** many thanks to the anonimous reviewers, yays! Hope you keep reading and reviewing... big hugs to all!_


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:**The Cursed Sword**  
****Genre:**Adventure**  
Summary:** The Lightning Emperor, the Snake and the Wolverine try to get along. **  
****Word count:**2032**  
****Fandom:**Get Backers/X-Men**  
****Pairing:**Ban/Ginji**  
****Rating:**PG-13 or T**  
****Warnings:**violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.**  
Disclaimer: **Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

His body was still as a statue but his mind was running wildly. In a matter of seconds, the battle genius checked for tens of possible actions he could take and discarded each of them because the risk of having either Ginji or himself dead at the hands of their opponent was too high to deserve serious consideration. It would be easier if Ginji hadn't discovered that Logan wasn't a thief – whatever action Ban decided to take, his friend would have accepted then. But now, it was too much likely that the Kaminari Kozou (1) would try something idiotic like putting himself in the line of fire, should Ban and Logan start to fight.

"_He's not a bad person, Ban-chan, and I know deep inside you feel real bad when you hurt someone, more so if it's innocent people"_, Ban could almost hear Ginji saying it.

"_And he's right", _the better part of him said, "_You left your old self behind and started the Dakkanya(2) because you were sick of killing and hurting others, weren't you?"_

Problem was, that freaky gaijin was a monster – like Akabane, like himself. That guy Logan may not be a criminal but he had goddamned _retractable_ _metal claws_ in his knuckles and was probably pissed off at them... and pissed monsters don't do much rational thinking once they are provoked, for crying out loud. Cold sweat trickled down Ban's spine and his stomach churned at the thought that maybe he would have to accept the unacceptable.

"Save your punches, Spikey." a heavy hand landed on Ban's shoulder and pushed him slightly to the side. Logan leaned closer and inspected Ginji's wounds with sharp, attentive eyes. Then he strolled to the kitchen showing no concern in turning his back to Ban. "I'm not gonna beat you... for now."

Thanks to his healing factor Logan had no use for things like bandages, antiseptics and other medical items, but more than once in his life he had regretted not having such things at hand – he could be virtually invulnerable but the few ones who he cared about weren't. It was only natural, then, that the few clear memories he had of his time in Japan were mostly of his training in healing techniques.

The kitchen cabinet had a number of small pots full of herbs. He had bought them out of habit, the same way a person would buy aspirin and pepto to stock at home.

_Well, now I have use for these things._

Not that he cared about those weird boys, but the last thing he needed now was to have two more deaths weighing on his shoulders. Unless they proved they deserved to die, that is.

"Yakusou?"(3) disbelief was clear in Ban's voice as he watched Logan opening the pots and pouring small amounts in a bowl.

"What's the problem, don't you trust your ancestors' wisdom?"

"**My **ancestors probably never had anything to do with Medicine. And how do I know it's not poison?"

"Any medicine badly used can be poison." Logan mixed the herbs swiftly and added water he had previously put to heat in a kettle. "If I wanted to kill you I'd have done it as soon as I got free so don't be scared, Spikey."

"The name's Ban." the Jagan user glared at him, right hand clenching into fist. "And I'm not scared, Metal Bastard."

Logan shrugged, not minding or not noticing the unflattering nickname.

"Whatever. I'm not making any decision until I get some answers from you boys. Plus it seems the storm will keep us stuck in here for at least three days and I don't want you bleeding all over the place, it's going to stink like hell. I have just finished renovating the house."

He picked the bowl with the herb mixture, the kettle with the remaining of the hot water and some cloth to treat Ginji's injuries, frowning a little at the lack of anything stronger than aspirin for pain. Well, if the blondie could deal with thousands of volts running in his own body he would probably survive some rough treatment without any anesthetic.

Ginji had kept his eyes tight shut like it would somehow lessen the pain. He could hear Ban and Logan talking but it sounded distant and at some point the words started to jumble up together in a confusing mess. He was drained, so weak and weary only the constant stinging in his belly kept him awake.

"Ginji?" a familiar hand touched his shoulder.

"Yes, Ban-chan." he managed to crack his eyes open. His friend's face was blurred, but he could see enough to recognize concern in the tense, pale features. He tried to smile reassuringly. "'m fine... just need time... recover..."

"Shut up, moron." but Ban's voice was too soft to sound angry. "We'll have to change the bandages, okay?"

Ginji nodded. He felt the mattress sinking at his feet and hands that weren't Ban's carefully peeling the blood-soaked cloth from the wounds.

"Logan-san?"

"Yeah, that's me." the voice was rough and nonchalant but there was a hint of warmth there – like Teshimine used to sound years ago, when he caught little Ginji doing something wrong. "The herbs I'm using are going to prevent infection and stop the bleeding. It will hurt like hell, though. You should hold on to your buddy, Junior."

"Okay." no protest, not the slightest flinching, only plain open trust. A baffled Logan saw Ginji grinning to him despite the haze of pain that clouded his brown eyes. The blonde lifted his hands and his friend promptly caught them.

It took no more than five minutes but it felt like hours to Ban. When Logan started to spread the green concoction on the cuts Ginji's hands squeezed Ban's with bruising force but he didn't let out a single moan.

_Dammit, hurry up you Metal Bastard!_

Ban leaned closer until his forehead touched Ginji's temple and he whispered as soothingly as he could, "it's almost done, just a little more Gin, you're doing great..." At some point, the litany seemed to be more directed to himself than his friend. He hated that. Ever since they started to work together he had seen Ginji hurt and suffer many times, but never got used to it. Every time it happened Ban felt the same mix of anger, sadness and frustration at the fact that he couldn't do much to help. Fortunately, it never took long – a good meal, some hours of sleep and the Lightning Rod was good as new.

But not this time. He had spent all his energy and had lost a lot of blood. He would need days to recover. _**If**_ that nasty green goo the Metal Bastard was using really did any good, that is.

"Ban-chan..." the strangled call slipped through gritted teeth. Tears spilled from Ginji's tightly shut eyes and mingled with the sweat that covered his face.

"I'm here. It's alright, he's almost finishing..." Ban had to make an extra effort to keep his voice calm. He couldn't help glaring at Logan, even knowing that what he was doing was necessary. Luckily the other man was too concentrated in treating the wounds to notice it.

_Can you go any slower? _The exasperated remark almost slipped from his lips but he managed to stop them – it would do no good to start an argument at that moment. When Ban started considering to knock his friend unconscious so that he wouldn't feel the pain, the iron grip on his hands relaxed and the blond head lolled to the side with a small sigh of relief.

"Done." Logan grunted and looked up to see an exhausted Ginji smiling peacefully to him.

"Thank you, Logan-san."

The reaction was almost imperceptible – a slight startle, a tiny twitch at the corners of his mouth – but more than enough for Ginji, who confidently held out a hand. After some hesitation, Logan took the offered hand and gave it a firm but careful squeeze.

_I knew you were a good person._

"Try to get some rest. You should eat too, but I don't think your stomach will hold anything in for a couple of hours." forcefully resisting the urge to smile back at Ginji, Logan turned to Ban. "Your turn now, Spikey."

"What?"

"I said I don't want blood stink in my house. Your friend is clean now, but you aren't."

"You're saying I stink?" Ban stood up, bristling with outraged anger.

"Yeah, you stink and if you don't let me clean your damn shoulder you'd better go build yourself an igloo outside because you're not staying in MY house!" Logan countered, pointing a commanding finger to a chair at the kitchen's counter. "Now go sit there, Hedgehog!"

Shaking with fury, Ban opened his mouth to respond to the insult in kind but was interrupted by a whining Ginji.

"Ban-chaaaaan, it's too noisy to sleep..."

The Jagan user gaped, unable to find a safe way to release his anger. Logan made good use of that moment of distraction and dragged the boy to the chair.

Ginji chuckled at his friend indignant expression. It hurt to laugh but he didn't care – he was now in a state of comfortable numbness so it wasn't that bad.

"It's okay, Ban-chan. Logan-san is kind. He's going to help us." with that, brown eyes closed and the grinning face almost immediately relaxed into a deep asleep expression.

Such simplicity, such trust, such idiocy, Ban thought. But the former Lightning Emperor had that instinctive ability to find the words one needed to hear and say them with rock solid conviction, so much that even the Snake Bearer was sometimes swayed by him. Despite all his effort to keep his proud and obnoxious stance, Ban ended up silently taking off the remaining of his torn shirt so that Logan could attend to his injury.

Not that he gave a damn shit about that Metal Bastard's olfactory sensitiveness.

Not that he trusted that freaky gaijin monster.

But he wanted to.

_Damn, I'm so tired I'm not even thinking straight. Trust this guy? A total stranger? Pheh!_

"Brace yourself, kiddo." Logan mumbled after finishing cleaning the wound. He smirked when Ban winced and bit back a cry of pain at the first contact of the herb mix with the bleeding cut. "Good boy. You almost got my respect."

"Shut up... and finish... this damn... fucking..."

"Watch your language, Spikey, or I'll make it last the whole day." despite his words, Logan tried to work faster. He gave silent thanks that Ban's injury was considerably smaller and more superficial than Ginji's – he had a feeling that the blue-eyed pain-in-the-ass wasn't as good patient as the blondie was.

When he finished and looked up the Jagan user had his eyes closed, face ashen pale.

"You okay, Hedgehog?"

"Of course... I'm not okay... you... freaky... werewolf..." thin slits of blue shone angrily, gray-white skin flushed red in an instant. "That... damn... hurt!"

Logan snorted, surprised with the sudden change. Then, he shook his head and started to laugh, low and restrained at first, but it went on and on and on in a crescendo until he was doubling over with laughter.

* * *

_**Author's notes:**_

_I'm sorry for taking long to update, my muse ran away for a while. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, I had to slow down the action to elaborate a little on the interaction between the Get Backers and Logan, so that the next events wouldn't feel forced or rushed._

_My thanks to all the anonimous reviewers – your words were very stimulating! (hearts to you!)_

_To _**Mia-Kitkat**: _Yays, a Brazilian reader! Yeah, you can review in Portuguese if you want!_

_Fanfiction. Net members, I think I replied to all your comments but thanks again, all of you, hope you keep on reading my little story..._ (hearts to you, too!)

_Aaaaand, the translation or the words in Japanese are:_

_(1) Kaminari Kozou - Lightning Brat_

_(2) Dakkanya – Recovery Service (I think everybody knows that but, uh... just in case a non-fan happens to read this)_

_(3) Yakusou – medicinal herbs._


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre:** Adventure  
**Summary:** A conversation, and some revelations are made.  
**Fandom:** Get Backers/X-Men  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Rating:** T  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer:** Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

_I am so so sorry for taking soooo darn long to update! Real life problems and the holidays got in the way... I'm having a hard time looking for a job so my muse has been kinda elusive Anyway, I already have a rough draft of the next chapters until the end of this story so I hope to be able to update more regularly from now on..._

_Aaand to all the reviewers I couldn't reply, a big Ginji-hug! Thank you so much for your words, they are a great incentive!_

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

He woke up to darkness, the only source of light the dying flames in the fireplace. He could see the vague contours of the two boys snuggled under the blankets bathed in tremulous, fading illumination and not much more. Outside, the storm seemed to have calmed but the wind was still howling.

_Something's wrong._

He sensed danger. Somebody was near and their blood-thirsty chi was so intense he could feel it like a tangible, physical presence.

Logan reluctantly crawled out of the sleeping bag and stood up, sniffing cautiously.

"Go back to sleep, Metal Bastard." the muffled voice, heavy with sleep, startled him. How come the Hedgehog was awake and he didn't notice it? "Whatever it is, it can wait until morning. They can't make a move in this storm. They are strong, but they are not monsters like you and me."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Call it a witch hunch."

"What?"

"Never mind." the cocoon of blankets lifted and a mop of dark hair popped out of it, followed by another of blond hair. "You woke us already."

"Ban-chan is really smart." Ginji smiled good-naturedly as he nested his head in the crook of his partner's neck. "If he says it can wait til morning, it can wait til morning."

Logan snorted incredulously but relaxed a little. He sat next to the fireplace and added some more wood into it.

"So you're sensing it too."

"Ginji is sensing it. He has very good instincts. I just happen to be very well attuned to him." Ban was dying for a smoke but he knew it wouldn't be a good idea with them locked in a small place like that. With a resigned sigh he reached for the pack of mint candies in Ginji's pocket and took one.

For a while neither spoke. They stared at the warm, flickering flames, the cozy view soothing them – the temperature was comfortable in the cabin thanks to a good heating system, but the darkness outside and the constant roaring of the snowstorm gave them shivers.

Moving to a more comfortable position, Logan turned to the two boys in bed. Despite his broken, irregular memories, Logan had enough life experience to know that Ban and Ginji were more than just friends. There was a special quality of warmth, trust and a subtle tenderness even when they were swatting at each other, disputing blankets and pillows.

_Not that I give a damn to how they are related_.

He was not one to point a finger at anyone for their choices – life was a bitch and he had misery enough to know that love, no matter in which package, was a rare, irrefutable gift. He was just... surprised at how _right _those two looked with their arms wrapped around each other, their faces relaxed and content like two affectionate cats cuddling.

_Kinda cute._

_Wait._

_Did I just thought... **cute**?_

Logan shook the indignant word off his head with an irritated snort.

"Is it me or you're looking much better now?" he threw the question to Ginji trying to hide his embarrassment at his own thoughts.

"Oh, I'm feeling great now, Logan-san!" the former Lightning Emperor flashed a toothy grin. "Almost completely cured and recharged, thank you!"

"Ginji can heal himself, but he needs time and energy." Ban ruffled his partner's hair, a glint of pride in his eyes.

"Yeah, but I'm not as good as Logan-san... I can't do it if I'm unconscious. Were you born like that, Logan-san?"

"What?"

Ginji was startled by the older man's reaction. It was not anger... it was more like he had poked a fresh wound. Nervously fingering a tip of the blanket he risked trying to explain his question. He didn't want Logan-san to feel offended. _Offended_ Logan-san was very likely to turn into _**angry**_ Logan-san and that, Ginji didn't want to face again, thank you!

"Um... I was just curious... because Ban-chan was born with his powers... at least, part of them... I, on the other hand... when I was little I didn't have anything special... it just awakened, one day..." brown eyes darkened at the memories, but the sadness last but a second, quickly replaced by a hopeful and friendly smile. "So I was wondering how it was with you... ow! Ban-chan, that hurt!"

"Go wash your face so you'll wake up for real, you're babbling, moron." growled Ban.

"I don't remember."

"Uh?" the two boys blinked, taken aback by the unexpected response.

"I don't fucking remember." Logan extended one claw slowly and stared at it with dark, unreadable eyes. "This was implanted, I'm sure. But my healing factor... I don't know." with a tired sigh, he dismissed the subject. "It doesn't matter anyway. If we are going to spend the rest of the night chatting we might as well talk about something more important, like why you tried to kill me, for example."

Ban and Ginji looked at each other for a moment. Then, Ban fell back on the pillows with a grunting sound.

"Tch... I guess we are free to talk since it was our client who screwed up things by giving us false information."

"But Ban-chan, maybe Yagumo-san just made a mistake..."

"Idiot, even _**you**_ saw the difference between Metal Bastard's katana and Yagumo's... How come he, the owner himself, didn't? I'm pretty sure that Yagumo's katana was never stolen and the son of a bitch sent us here because he wanted the Werewolf's sword for himself. He's probably one of those crazy-greedy collectors who'd do anything to add one more piece to their collection..."

* * *

Logan gazed thoughtfully at the photo for a long moment.

"So Yagumo hired you to recover what he claims to be his sword."

Ban raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'claims to be'? I know that _**this**_ katana" and he pointed to sword lying on the mantel, "is really yours but that doesn't mean the one in the photo isn't his."

"The one in the photo is the Black Blade." Logan threw the photo back to the Get Backers, a gloomy look in his face. "And it doesn't belong to him either. The real owner is Muramasa himself and I doubt he would want a guy like Yagumo to have a weapon like that."

Ginji frowned with the effort to understand.

"You mean Yagumo-san stole this katana? And he wanted to have your katana, too? This is... this is mean! It's not right... "

Logan raised a hand interrupting Ginji's outraged speech.

"Are you listening?"

Ban nodded.

"The storm is over. It's morning already." he glanced at the weak, grayish light coming through the window. A smirk twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Get dressed, Ginji. The bad guys are coming. We have to give them a warm welcome!"

"Oky-doky, Ban-chan!" Ginji happily jumped out of bed. "Are you going with us, Logan-san?"

Logan couldn't help chuckling at the invitation.

"Yeah, I guess whoever those 'bad guys' are they owe me something too..." he turned to Ban with a teasing smile. "My clothes will be a tad too big for you but I take it you don't wanna go outside half naked..."

The two boys stared wide-eyed at each other as they remembered. After treating their wounds, Logan had thrown their blood-soaked sweaters and jackets in the fireplace and they were now nothing but ashes.

Ten minutes later, the three men were standing on the cabin's porch, facing the chilly air. Logan looked extremely satisfied, Ginji awkward – Logan's shirt and sweater were hanging loosely from his narrower shoulders, the too long sleeves clumsily folded; and Ban was purple-red outraged in a pink turtle neck and neon-green scarf.

"Um... Logan-san?" Ginji glanced nervously at his fuming partner as he spoke.

"What's up, Junior?"

"How come you had women's clothes in your house?"

"A girlfriend left them here."

"Oh... and why did Ban-chan have to wear those?"

"Because I didn't have spare clothes enough for the two of you. Do you wanna change places with him?"

"Um... no..."

Still smiling, Logan lit a cigar and took a long, satisfactory drag. Before him, all was white except by the shadows of the trees and three small human forms slowly approaching.

"It's showtime, guys."

* * *

_**Author's notes**_

_About Ban's powers: the anime gave me the impression that Ban, differently from Ginji, has been aware and able to use his powers since he was a kid. Sorry if this is wrong._

_About Logan's size: I know that comic-verse Wolverine is not a big man. I'm based on movie-verse Wolverine's physical appearance. Anyways, Ban and Ginji are medium height at best for western standards and pretty lean so Logan's clothes would be quite large for Ginji._


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre:** Adventure  
**Summary:** The battle begins...  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer: **Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

They were three, a man, a woman and a boy, walking with uncanny ease on soft, thick snow.

"It's like Master had told us. They are strong." said the woman, her deep green eyes narrowed in concentration as she sensed their target's chi. She was wearing only jeans and boots and a turtle neck but didn't seem to be affected by the cold – in fact, it seemed like very few things in this world could affect her. Her bony hand clutched the boy's shoulder, startling him. "Go ahead, Purity. Make good use of your power."

Purity looked up to his companions, and shivered a little. He was definitely feeling cold – his nose was red and his hands were tightly curled inside the long kimono sleeves.

"I'm scared, Weed." he whispered cautiously, as if he feared that his soft voice could disturb the heavy silence around them. "What if I fail? What if that bakemono (1) down there hurt you?"

Weed crouched so that she could be at eye level with the boy. It was with affection but also steely severity that she spoke.

"Have you forgotten what Master had taught us?"

"Attachment is weakness." Purity obediently recited in dead monotone. "Courage is virtue. Loyalty is life."

"That's it. Attachment is weakness. We are warriors, we can't afford to shed tears for each other. If I die, I'm dead, end of story for me. You just have to wipe me out of your head and keep fighting to accomplish our mission, that's all."

The boy made to protest, but a stern look of the woman stopped him. The man, who had been observing the conversation in silence, stepped forward and ruffled Purity's dark hair.

"He understood already, Weed. No need to scare him with that look of yours."

"You're too soft for a guy named 'Iron', you know." Weed sighed and stood up.

"And you're too inflexible for a woman named 'Weed'." replied Iron with a teasing, lopsided grin.

"Touché." with a dry, acid smile, Weed ran one hand through her red, curly hair and placed the other on Iron's shoulder. "Let's go, we have a job to do."

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

Ginji frowned when he saw the smallest one of the approaching group coming forward. It was a boy of 12 at the most, with long black hair. Ginji didn't like fighting children – it looked like cowardice, even though he knew there were kids out there whose powers rivaled Shido's and Kazuki's – Makubex was a good example. He turned to Ban, but before he could speak he was graced with a smack on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"You were going to ask me to hold back, weren't you?"

"But Ban-chan, it's a small boy..."

"Yeah, a small boy with a huge chi!" Ban unwrapped his scarf and threw it back, preparing for fight. "Don't tell me you can't feel it!"

"I can, but..."

Pale face set in a cold, resolute mask, Purity raised his hands. Something white started to streak from his thin fingers, quickly surrounding the Get Backers and Wolverine, covering everything, making it impossible to see anything.

"What the hell..." Ban tensed and narrowed his eyes but could see only milky-white mist. It wasn't this that made his internal alarm scream like crazy, though. He had fought blind many times. What was really making him wary was the fact that he couldn't sense any chi through that fucking mist – neither Ginji's and Logan's, nor the boy's.

It was as if that foggy thing was somehow blocking his senses.

"Ban-chaaan! Logan-saaan! Where... waaaahhh!" Ginji's scream seemed to be coming from all directions. _So it can physically affect sound propagation too..._

"Ginji!"

_Dammit, this is not good. Not good at all!_

Ban hoped Ginji, wherever he may be, was managing to defend himself. Ban had no way of helping right now and Logan was awfully quiet... could he be already taken down? Impossible, their opponents were not that strong, he was sure of it...

Ban sensed the blow coming just a split second before it hit him. It was enough to avoid a fatal strike but not enough to escape – he felt a shocking pain on his back and fell face first on the ground.

_Shit. Shit. Double shit!_

Another blow. Another. And another. Each time Ban managed to duck, but never enough to avoid being hit. It was a big, iron-hard fist that was doing all the damage, he could feel it.

_No way this son of a bitch will defeat the great Ban Midou-sama with bare hands!_

Okay, so he needed to make the bastard lower his guard... Bracing himself the Snake Bearer stopped trying to dodge and let his opponent hit him in full – he could almost hear his ribs cracking with the impact.

"Ha! Gotcha!"

Ban heard the other man's triumphant voice and felt the momentary distraction. A smirk twitched at his lips. "No, _**I**_ gotcha, Rocky Fist!" the right hand shot at light speed and grabbed the opponent's arm. "Snake..."

Iron gasped in surprise as he was dragged up with inhuman strength.

"... bite!!!" the man was hurled several meters away and ended up half-buried in the snow with one broken arm.

After spitting a very colorful amount of curses, Ban collapsed clutching his side, feeling his abused ribs protest against the effort. Now if he could just find the others...

"Ban-chan!"

Ginji fell on his knees right beside his partner, wheezing. He didn't look wounded but his skin was dead-white and his lips were blue.

"Ginji! What..." Ban stared wide eyed as his friend crawled on top of him and electric sparkles started to crackle around the two of them.

"It's ok, Ban-chan", Ginji winced as a barrage of sharp, thin blades struck his electric shield, "I can handle it... I'll protect you so that you can concentrate... and... locate them through the mist..."

The Jagan user smiled and nodded. His partner could be a complete idiot most of the time, but when it came to fighting, he was pretty smart.

"Good thinking, eel."

Ban closed his eyes, partially because the view of Ginji paling and shaking under the enemy's attacks was too painful and it wouldn't let him focus. _Shit, he barely recovered from the fight with the Metal Bastard and now this..._

More blades rained on them once, twice, three times. Each time they seemed to come from a different direction. Each time they seemed closer. But no, that wasn't the one Ban wanted. He wanted to get to the strongest chi. Those guys were fighting in sync, somehow sharing energy and momentum, he was sure – otherwise, those three would never stand a chance against him and Ginji. Once the strongest chi was taken down, the balance would break and the others would be easier to defeat. He frowned, trying to stretch his senses against the muffling mist.

Blue eyes shot open.

"Found it!"

He grabbed Ginji's hand and pointed it to the right direction. There was no need to speak. The Lightning Emperor quickly lifted the shield and shot a blinding electrical strike.

"Weed! Iron!" Purity's shriek echoed in the thick whiteness.

* * *

_**Author's notes:**_

_Sorry guys, I know OCs are usually only interesting to the one who created them but I had to spend some paragraphs with Purity, Weed and Iron or you readers wouldn't know who our heroes are fighting against... Hope they weren't too boring, hehe._

_Battle scenes are so difficult! For some reason they all end up being Ban's POV – maybe because he's the genius and is more likely to have a clear view of what's going on. I'll try to write some Ginji's and Logan's POV next._

_And once again, many many thanks to everyone who's reading and reviewing the story - double thanks to the ones whose messages I couldn't reply privately. I love you all and your words encourage me to go ahead with this little fic..._

_Translation of the word in Japanese_

_(1) Bakemono monster._


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Summary:** getting to know the opponents...  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer:** Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

It felt as if mud was slowly filling his lungs, suffocating him. Sprawled on the freezing snow, with no energy to keep its temperature, his abused body was shaking uncontrollably with cold. Needle-sharp blades were stuck in his arms and legs – none of them in a vital point, he had managed to at least avoid the worst. The mist was fucking with his senses, he couldn't see, hear or smell the enemy.

_This bad._

The barrage of blades suddenly stopped – did the bastard think he was defeated already? - and Logan took the chance to try and stand up and recover a little dignity. The spot where he had been rolling and crawling to escape the attacks was bright red with his blood.

He had just managed to stop swaying on unsteady legs when a big hand grabbed his throat and dragged him forward and upward.

_Dammit, this is fucking bad!_

Logan fought for air, eyes shut in agony as the hand squeezed his throat. That guy definitely wasn't the one who'd been throwing blades at him for the last couple of minutes. So they were taking turns instead of choosing one opponent for each to take down? Heh, nice strategy for weaklings... not that he had never used this kind of tactic himself... Shit, he was feeling dizzy, he had to find a way out soon...

With the last of his strength Logan buried his claws on the body right before him, a small wicked grin breaking as he heard a satisfying scream of pain from his opponent. The hand on his throat loosened its grip and slipped down; Logan opened his eyes and saw a big, muscular man with sandy hair collapsed on the snow, his right arm in a weird angle.

_Hey... I'm pretty sure it was his right hand on my throat... Don't tell me this son of bitch almost strangled me with a broken arm! It's impossib..._

His train of thought was brutally interrupted when his already failing lungs suddenly stopped working. Logan gaped, unable to breath anymore, painfully aware of his internal organs shutting down one by one with the lack of oxygen.

Curiously, his last thought before falling unconscious was that he should have said a proper goodbye to Storm last time they'd talked.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"...ji."

There were colorful spots dancing before his eyes and this faint, familiar voice echoing in his ears. What happened? Where was he?

The soft mattress under him seemed to be the same he had slept on last night, so probably he was in Logan-san's cabin again. And the cool hand on his forehead was...

"B-Ban-chan?"

Ginji blinked a few times and the spots slowly disappeared, revealing Ban's worried frown.

"I should beat you senseless for scaring me like this, dumbass." the Jagan user grunted. "You were out cold for a whole day!"

"What happened?"

"We've got the one with the strongest chi." Ban pointedly looked at the small boy hunched next to the fireplace. "You shocked him unconscious and bingo! The mist was gone, and so were the other two guys."

Ginji sat up and tried a deep breath, grinning with relief as he felt his lungs easily filling with air.

"Aahhh, this is so good!"

"Isn't it?" Ban grinned back and ruffled his partner's hair. "It was the mist. Apparently that darn thing can clog your lungs if you inhale too much of it."

"You didn't seem affected when we were there fighting, Ban-chan... why?"

"Well, when you work with someone like Himiko you learn a thing or two... and you, boke (1), should have learned how to control your breath by now!" Ban hit Ginji on the head, eliciting whiny protests. "How many times will you fall in her perfume traps until you learn it, eh, moron?"

The bathroom door opened and Logan came out, wearing only jeans, a towel hanging on his naked shoulders. All his wounds were healed and he looked healthy and refreshed, much to Ban's disgust – how come he was the only one who didn't have healing powers?

"How do you feel, Junior? Your buddy was about to burst in tears because you wouldn't wake up..."

"Burst in... what?" Ban bristled in indignation. "You old crap, the great Ban Midou-sama NEVER cries!"

"Old? I'll show you old, stinky hedgehog!"

"Why, you..."

"Aaaaa Ban-chan, Logan-san, please!" Ginji locked his arms around Ban, keeping him from jumping on the other man's throat. "You're scaring the kid!"

The two men begrudgingly quieted, turning their attention to the boy, who was staring at them with wide eyes. With a sigh of relief, Ginji released his partner and tried to smooth things out with a friendly smile.

"Don't be scared, boku-chan(2) Ban-chan and Logan-san fight a lot but it's never serious..." the blond Get Backer crawled out of bed and kneeled down in front of Purity. "Now, if you promise you won't use your power to hurt us... uh..." brown eyes blinked in confusion as he realized. "Wait... you're not bound... and you're not using your powers... uh... Ban-chan?"

Wincing a little at the pain in his cracked ribs Ban stood up slowly. He took a cigarette from his pants pocket, lit it and took a long drag. Curls of white smoke danced around his unreadable face, making it look somehow distant. Ban didn't mind confessing his sins and showing regret before Ginji, but in front of anyone else – and especially of people who pushed his buttons – it was always with a defensive stance that he spoke of his wrongs.

"I used the Jagan in him," the voice was quiet and cold, but well trained ears could hear the hidden disgust ringing under the smooth tone, "and found a way to seal his powers. Unfortunately it seems that part of his memory was sealed, too. Now there isn't much he can tell us about the others."

Unwavering brown eyes met blue ones. As always, there was no sign of reproach, only affection and admiration.

"It's alright, Ban-chan. I don't like the idea of hurting kids, but sometimes there's no other way. Besides, you didn't know the sealing would affect his memory, ne?"

"And who asked your opinion, eel?" Ban did his best to look offended, with no success. He shrugged and leaned on the window sill, pretending to find the view outside extremely interesting.

Ginji shook his head in mild exasperation and turned to Purity.

"You see, Ban-chan is feeling real bad for scaring you and sealing your powers." he whispered secretively, "He just feels embarrassed to show it. Anyway, he couldn't do different, could he? You attacked us – I know you must've had a reason to do it, but still... so Ban-chan just wanted to make sure you wouldn't hurt us again."

The boy let out a disheartened sigh, small hands nervously toying with the tip of his kimono sleeves. Ginji insisted on trying to engage him in a conversation.

"I'm Ginji Amano. The onii-san (3) there is my best friend and partner, Ban Midou. And the oji-san (4)... uh..." Ginji felt a pair of angry eyes burning on the back of his neck and quickly rephrased, "... I mean, the other onii-san is Logan-san, hehe... What's your name?"

"Purity."

"Pi.. uh... Piru... uh... can I call you Pi-chan?"

After a moment of hesitation, the boy nodded.

"You can call me whatever you like if you do me a favor, Ginji-san."

"Sure, if it's possible..." the blond Get Backer grinned brightly. "What do you want me to do? Want me to bring you food? A blanket? Ah, maybe you need to go the bathroom..."

"I want you to kill me. Please."

* * *

_**

* * *

Author's notes**_

_About Ban's witch powers: Purity is probably a witch or a kind of youkai (haven't decided which yet) so he could be sealed by someone with knowledge enough. I haven't read all the manga so I don't know if Ban actually can do it, though. Sorry for the inconsistency here._

_And about the use of Jagan to get information, in the anime, Ban once talks about doing it so I believe this is possible. _

_Reasons why I sometimes use Japanese words: a) to keep true to the characters. Ginji, especially, tends to use honorifics and endearments a lot, which makes his speaking sound more friendly and warm. b) to remind the reader that the characters are supposed to be speaking in Japanese. Since this is a crossover with X-Men, there will be times that they will switch to English._

_**Translation of the words in Japanese**_

_boke: fool, air-head._

_boku-chan: it's a kind of endearment, used to address small boys when you don't know their names._

_onii-san: older brother. This expression is also used to address young men when you don't know their names._

_oji-san: uncle. Also used to address middle-aged men when you don't know their names._


	9. Chapter 9A

**Title:** The Cursed Sword  
**Genre:** Adventure  
**Summary:** how to get information from a little guilty-complexed prisoner.  
**Pairing:** Ban/Ginji  
**Rating:** PG-13 or T  
**Warnings:** violence, blood, cursing, mild shonen ai.  
**Disclaimer: **Get Backers and all its characters belong to Yuya Aoki and Randou Ayamine. Wolverine belongs to Marvel Comics.

**_Sorry for taking long to update - real life is a bitch, you know... plus, the muse is not helping... but I'm doing my best, believe me. Now that we have a new character in the bunch I had to slow down once more and work on their interaction. Sorry if it's boring for you... sniffs_**

**_Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone! I tried to reply all of them - if I left anyone without a reply, my apologies. Hope you're still with me, my friends. Do not hesitate in clicking on the review button, your comments mean the world to me!_**

****

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE-A**

****

****

****

****

"Wha..." Ginji blinked in confusion, "but why, Pi-chan?"

Purity looked down and silently played some more with his kimono sleeves. When he spoke, it was with a soft, monotone voice.

"I may have lost part of my memory, but I remember very well what my Master ordered. And I remember that I failed, and because of that, Weed and Iron..." there was a slight wavering, a sob quickly swallowed and he continued, "I am your enemy and I lost the battle. You should kill me."

With an exasperated sigh, Logan headed for the kitchen. Seeing children talking like that got on his nerves.

_What the hell happened to this kid to make him say "kill me" and really mean it, just like that?_

"I'm gonna make some coffee... I don't have milk so the brat will have to make do with instant hot chocolate and cookies."

"Yay, cookies!" momentarily distracted by the mention of food, Ginji grinned from ear to ear. Then Logan raised a warning eyebrow and the blond Getbacker winced and immediately returned the attention to their prisoner, "Uh, I mean... Pi-chan, you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You tried your best... I'm sure your Master, whoever he is, will understand..."

Purity shook his head.

"Failure is unacceptable," he said like he was stating the obvious. "If you don't kill me, my Master will. And I can't face him after what I have done... it's too shameful... I'd rather die here and now."

"You wanna die that much?" Ban finished his cigarette and flipped the butt into the ashtray he had placed on the window sill, next to him. He made to pick one more from the pack in his pocket but changed his mind and crossed his arms with a small twitch of frustration. "I may do you the favor, but not before you answer some questions. I can't use the Jagan on you again and there's a lot of things we need to know."

"Ban-chan, you're being too harsh!"

"No, it's alright!" Purity stood up, ran to where Ban was standing and pleaded, "If I tell you all I know, will you kill me?"

"I said I _**may**_ do you the favor. If you still feel like dying after all is said and done, that is." blue eyes narrowed, unrelenting. "You're okay with it, I'll see what I can do to help; you're not okay with it, I'm gonna drag you back to your Master and make sure that humiliation won't cut it as a description of what you'll go through."

The boy shivered at the threat. After a moment of hesitation he lowered his head in defeat.

"It is alright. I will answer your questions."

* * *

They were now sitting at the table, each with a mug of hot coffee – hot chocolate for Purity – and a bowl of cookies. It was already dark outside and getting cold, even with the heater and the fireplace working.

_Must check the heater tomorrow morning, looks like it's not good_, Logan thought while his eyes wandered aimlessly from Ban to Ginji to Purity and then back at Ban. None of them was talking, the uncomfortable silence heavy and unsettling.

Purity stared apathetically at his mug of chocolate, small hands balled into fists on his lap. His white kimono was a little dirty from the battle but aside from that, remained impeccably straight and correctly folded around him. For some reason, such tidiness annoyed Logan.

It felt wrong. Very wrong.

Ginji was eating the cookies absently. He had totally recovered in the last few hours, especially after wolfing four bowls of instant noodles and two cans of Campbell's that Logan had bought months ago and never had the guts to eat.

_One must be dying of severe starvation to swallow that crap._

And the Blondie had grinned and said that crap was _delicious _and that it helped him heal faster... Weird kid. Well, he really looked better. There was no sign of pallor on his face, eyes were bright and alert, and sometimes tiny sparkles would crackle when he made sudden moves – this, according to Ban, was a sign that he was completely "recharged".

And speaking of the Hedgehog, he, too, was recovering fast even if not as much as his partner. But then, apart from the cracked ribs most of his wounds were not serious – the little bastard was a smart fighter. Logan had to admit that the boy was tough and probably more experienced in battles than anyone that young had the right to be.

Logan had watched as Ban used the Jagan on Purity, his face hard and cold and unmoving as the boy curled up, shaking and sobbing of pure terror at the dreams planted in his mind. It was disgusting but necessary – the kid had tried to kill them and almost succeeded, after all. Logan had found himself admiring the Jagan user's ability and fairness: he never hesitated, no matter how pitiful the child looked; at the same time there was no cruelty, no hatred toward the enemy in his demeanor.

A loud crack coming from the heater startled them. They blinked, as if awaken from a stupor and looked at each other with questioning faces.

Sensing an alarming smell, Logan ran to the kitchen, where the heater control was, and cursed at the sight of a burned panel. There wasn't much to do since he didn't have a spare part available so he returned to the table with a sour expression, already counting how many blankets there were in the house and wondering if they had enough wood to keep the fire burning until morning.

"We'll have to sleep close to the fireplace tonight. The heater's down."

"Great." Ban grunted. "As far as I remember you told us that you had recently renovated this shitty cabin."

"Yeah, I did, and I'm gonna renovate your face if you don't watch your mouth."

"I would love to see you try, Metal Bastard!"

"Aaaaa, Ban-chan, Logan-san, not again please!" Ginji smiled nervously, "Uh, we were going to make some questions to Pi-chan, ne?"

Two frowning faces turned to the former Lightning Emperor, who warily fidgeted on his chair, waiting for a whack on the head or a stream of colorful insults. To his surprise, nothing happened. The two men just sat on their chairs, reluctantly swallowing their irritation at each other. Ginji sighed in relief.

_Thanks God it seems they really aren't feeling like fighting now..._

"I guess you're right, Ginji. Business comes first." after directing his most scaring glare to Logan, Ban struck what he considered his best "professional pose" - sprawled on the chair, legs crossed in an intentionally lazy angle – and focused his attention on Purity.

"Alright boy, let's get started." he took a sip of his coffee before shooting the first question. "Who's your Master?"

Purity gulped. He was pretty sure he could get away without revealing anything that would harm his Master or give any the enemy any advantages over him – that was the only reason why he had accepted Ban's proposition. This certainty didn't make things easier, though. He still felt like he was betraying his Master and could practically see Weed's face contorted in disgust at his doing.

_But it can't be helped. I'm sorry Weed, I just can't face Master after failing so shamelessly..._

Taking a deep breath, Purity forced the words out from his trembling lips.

"His name is Ryoma Yagumo."

There was a snort, a small chuckle and Ban shook his head.

"I wonder why I'm not surprised..."


End file.
